Petting?
“Petting?”
She tilted her head back and forth. “You know… caressing, touching, all of that.”
“You’re trying to say I can’t touch any tits?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
The light by the door flipped on before I could protest and tell her she was crazy—again.
Her face lit up. “Perfect timing!” She sprang from her chair and went over to open the exit door for me. “Seven days. You can do it.”
I’m glad one of us thinks so.
“Wait,”—I was almost through the door when I remembered to ask something—“can I rough up the suspect by myself?”
She frowned at me. “What suspect?”
“Ya know, can I charm the snake? Unclog the drain? Slap the sausage?”
I wished I had a video camera on her face as she realized what I was talking about. Her eyes bulged and she pressed her lips together tightly as she pushed me through the door. “Good-bye, Lawrence.”
I swear I heard her laugh on the other side of the door as she closed it behind me and I walked away.
THE FIRST FOUR days had been easy. I hadn’t thought about my dick except when I’d held it to piss. On day five, the Viking started talking to me. He was twitchy and ready to play. Ignoring it became harder and harder, literally. I was trying to settle into a new norm.
One of the positives of my new normal was my contact with Michelle. I’d remembered to text her every morning when I woke up and ask how her and the kids were and if she needed anything. Every day she responded the same way.
M: Thanks, but so far, so good. :)
She didn’t need me and that was okay. As long as she knew I was there, just in case, I could sleep at night. I’d visited Gam not once but twice, and I hadn’t missed one workout. In fact, I’d been putting in extra time at the gym. All in all, it’d been a great week, but I still had the weekend to go before I could strut into Dr. Roberts’s office Tuesday afternoon and prove to her that I could go a week without sex, standing on my head. And… one of Dr. Roberts’s stipulations was that I had to leave the house and go out once, but she hadn’t said anything in the rules about not bringing backup, so I called Brody and Kacie to have them meet me at Stumpy’s.
I got there before anyone else and grabbed our usual table in the corner. The saloon doors opened and Portland came striding over to the table with a big smile on her face.
“Hey, you!” She beamed.
“Hey.”
I didn’t know how to act. Typically, I would have jumped up and hugged her and said something inappropriate, but it was only day five, and I had to behave.
Portland tilted her head to the side and chewed on the end of her pen. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I tried to sound as casual as possible. “Why?”
“I don’t know, you just seem different.”
“Nah, I’m good. Just tired. It’s been a long week.”
“Okay.” She smiled. “You want a root beer?”
“Sure.”
“All right. I’ll be right back.”
She turned around and had just disappeared into the kitchen when suddenly, two little hands covered my eyes.
“Guess who?” a female asked, but it was clear she was trying to disguise her voice.
“Uh…” I was stumped. I’d picked up so many girls at this bar it literally could have been anyone. “Is it…”
“Your worst nightmare!” A man laughed. I knew that voice for certain. I pulled the hands down and Brody was already sitting across the table from me, cracking open a peanut. Still holding her hands, I looked to my left and saw Kacie.
“Did I get ya?” She grinned, wrapping her arms around me.
I nodded and laughed. “You totally did. I had no idea who the fuck it was.”
As Kacie came around to sit at the table, I noticed she wasn’t alone. Michelle followed behind her.
“Hey!” I was excited to see her.
“Hey yourself, stranger.” She moved in for a quick hug too. “Long time no talk, huh?”
“Yeah, really. It’s been what, almost eight hours?”
“You guys talked today?” Kacie stared back and forth between the two of us. “When?”
Michelle gave me a small smile before glancing over at Kacie. “Viper has been really sweet. He’s been texting me every morning to see if the kids and I are okay or if we need anything.”
Brody’s and Kacie’s faces mirrored each other. Complete shock.
“What the hell are you making those faces for?” I snapped at them.
“I’m just stunned to hear someone call you sweet. I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” Brody joked. I picked up a peanut and threw it at him.